Improvement in utero-vaginal supports



vNirnio [STATES ATENT rFicE.

RUSSELL CAULKINS, OF SANDUSKY CITY, OHIO.v

IMPROVEMENT in UTERQ-VAGINAL suPPqoRTs.

Specication forming part of Letters Patent No. 7,050, dated January 29, 1850.

Y accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure l is a view looking down on the iingers or elevators of the instrument. The plunger is drawn back, the capsule put on, and the fingers or elevators are depressed close to the tube in a position for being inserted. Fig. 2 is a View taken in the same direction, having the plunger pushed forward and the fingers or elevators raised and extended. Fig. 3 is a section through the center of the tube. Fig. 4 represents the capsule. Fig. 5 represents the sponge with string attached. Fig. 6 is a detached section of part of the tube with lthe elevating-screw and end of one of the fingers. Fig. 7 is an end view of the cover or cap. Fig. 8 is a transverse section of the tube, showing the plunger.

Similar letters refer to corresponding parts in the several figures.

My invention consists in an instrument the principal object of which is to enable females suifering under diseases known as prolapsus uteri and prolapsus vagina to .perform the necessary operations themselves without surgical aid. It is formed of a hollow tube of metal, provided with a plunger, and also with two fingers or elevators for raising and replacing the uterus in its proper position after the tube has been inserted in the vagina.

It further consists in a capsule of gumelastic or other suitable material, which I place over the mouth of the tube and force distended by a piece of sponge into the vagina for the purpose ot' sustaining and supporting the part-s in their proper position after having been raised by the elevators or fingers.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to de scribe its construction and operation.

tube, and may be taken off when not desired for use and adj usted when necessary for operation. 1

. b is a hole, through which-a string from the sponge passes.

C is the plunger having a small hole c.

D is the plunger-rod having a ring at its outer end for the purpose-of a handle.

E E are the iingers or elevators, which are formed of levers working on a pin e, fitted in.

bearings on the tube.

F is a screw for the purpose of elevating and at the same time extending the lingers or elevators; The shoulder under the head of the screw is provided witha conical groove, as seen in the partial section, Fig. 6. The back ends of the elevators have each a small knob f upon its upper side. The screw is entered into a hole in the tube which has a corresponding female screw, and the conical groove in the shoulder will cover theknobs ff, and as the screw is turned inward the conical groove bearing upon the said knobs will press them downward and at the same time draw them nearer to each other. Consequently the opposite ends of the levers or elevators will be raised upward and forced farther apart.

Gr is the sponge, to which a string g is at` tached.

H is the capsule formed of gum-elastic or other suitable iiexible material.

The mode of operation is as follows: The cap B is unscrewed from-the tube and the plunger withdrawn. The screw F is taken out or unscrewed sufliciently to allow the sponge to pass. The capsule is then drawn over the mouth of the tube and it will be found to hold by its own elasticity. The sponge is next inserted (after being moistened with water so as to give it the required elasticity) into thetube, andthe string gis drawn through the hole cin the plunger and through the hole b in the cap. The plunger is then entered into the tube pastthe screw F and the cap B screwed on. The string g must then be pulled by the operator to release it from the plunger-rod, round which it would be wound in screwing on the cap. The front ends of the elevators, which are formed as shown in the drawings, are brought over the mouth of the tube, and it is then ready for operation. The instrument is then held by the operator or by the patient herself, and the end is inserted in the vagina, the levers or elevators E E being kept upward and on a line with the center of the body. The instrument is next carefully forced into the vagina in a direction at right angles to the pubes. When it has been c aused to proceed as 'far as is necessary, the screw F is screwed in, and the conical groove under its shoulder is made to bear on the knobs f f, in the manner already described, and the elevators will be raised and extended, at the same time embracing the uterus and raising it to its proper position. The plunger C is then propelled forward, driving also the sponge G, the string g, hanging out through the holes c and b. When the sponge reaches the capsule H, it will gradually draw the capsule off the tube, entering in its passage and 'forcing the capsule into the vagina, when the neck of the capsule H will close over the spongeG, and will present the form shown at Fig. 4. The object of the capsule is to prevent the irritition which would otherwise be caused by the sponge. The instrument must be then very gently and gradually withdrawn, the elevators being gradually closed by slackening the screw F. As the instrument is drawn out, the string g will pass through the v,holes c and b in the plunger and cup and will be left hanging out from the vagina, andthe uterus and vagina will be sustained and supported by the capsule and sponge. The capsule and sponge must be allowed to remain in the vagina for a time, probably from six to twenty-four hours. This will vary much, according to the circumstances of the case. When they have remained in suiciently long, they may be Withdrawn by the patient or operator by means of the string g and washed or cleansed, when they will be again ready for use.

Having described my invention, I will now state what l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent-- l. The combination of the elevating-levers A E E with the tube A, made of any material,

and the mode of raising and spreading the said elevatinglevers by the screw F, with its conical groove, as herein described, or in any way substantially the same.'

2. The capsule H, distended by the sponge G, introduced through the tube A, for the purpose of supporting the uterus and vagina, in the manner herein set forth.

RUSSELL CAULKINS.

Witnesses:

S. H. WALES, CHAs. F. INNEss. 

